Chapter Summaries

Huo Yuhao and the others discussed Ji Juechen’s sword intent and the possibility of a cultivation path independent of soul rings before receiving a delegation from the Ordinary Alliance. The delegation apologized to Huo Qiu'er and offered Mingdu underground rare-metal mining rights to make peace with the Northern Lands Alliance.

• Huo Yuhao considered recruiting Ji Juechen to help establish the Northern Lands Alliance in Mingdu and handle its opponents.
• Huo Qiu'er wondered whether Ji Juechen’s swordsmanship could let people grow stronger without soul rings, but the Snow Empress explained that his power still relied on soul power and his Martial Soul.
• The Ice Empress argued that Huo Yuhao would never pursue sword intent, and the Snow Empress supported his transformation of her Emperor Sword into his own techniques.
• Chen An told Huo Yuhao that the Ordinary Alliance had returned to apologize to Huo Qiu'er and offer a precious gift.
• Shao Jie apologized on behalf of the Ordinary Alliance and proposed an alliance to share control of Mingdu’s underground world.
• Shao Jie revealed that the gift was a portion of the mining rights for rare metals beneath Mingdu, and Huo Yuhao recognized its value.

Huo Yuhao and Huo Qiu'er explored the declining Southeast Mining District and learned that immigrant miners from Star Luo and other countries had formed a community there. Huo Yuhao reflected on how the miners arrived and planned to mingle with them, investigate local conditions, and share food.

• Huo Yuhao explained how the mines had declined after their resources dwindled and major forces abandoned the district.
• Huo Yuhao and Huo Qiu'er overheard Star Luo miners complaining about wage deductions and the high cost of food and drink.
• Huo Yuhao reasoned that immigrants came to earn more than they could at home, and that cheap migrant labor had helped create the community.
• Huo Yuhao explained that immigrants could cross the Mingdou Mountains by joining caravans, and admitted that political asylum had once been his backup plan.
• Huo Yuhao took a long grill from his storage belt and prepared to meet the miners, learn about their lives, and share food.

Huo Yuhao set up a cheap grilled-fish stall in Mingdu’s Southeast Mining District and spoke with Star Luo immigrants about how they came to live there. After miners began buying his food, a red-haired Star Luo man demanded half his earnings and tried to force him to buy supplies from a local tavern, leaving Huo Yuhao amused by the betrayal between countrymen.

• Huo Yuhao grilled fish for the miners and explained that he had priced it cheaply for their sake.
• A Star Luo woman told Huo Yuhao that she and her husband had fled border fighting decades earlier and settled in the mining district.
• The woman’s miner husband bought five grilled fish for himself and his coworkers, who praised the food.
• The older miner warned Huo Yuhao that local peddlers faced trouble and asked whether he was new to town.
• A red-haired Star Luo man demanded half of Huo Yuhao’s earnings and insisted that he buy all food and drink from the man’s tavern.
• Huo Yuhao stopped the Ice Empress from intervening and recognized that mine owners used Star Luo people to control their fellow immigrants.

Huo Yuhao confronted Brother Nan’s red-haired enforcer and learned that miners were concealing a Mithril Mine because they feared losing their homes and livelihoods. After leaving the miners, he decided to challenge the local tavern’s business, while questions remained about Mine Owner Ding and Brother Nan.

• The red-haired brute stole Huo Yuhao’s grilled fish and tried to force him to work for Brother Nan, so Huo Yuhao overpowered him and threw him away.
• The miners told Huo Yuhao that Brother Nan exploited fellow Star Luo people by charging them high prices for goods.
• The miners revealed that they kept the Mithril Mine secret because its discovery could bring rival factions and drive them from the mining district.
• Huo Yuhao left with Huo Qiu’er and wondered why Ding Yi had handed the district to Brother Nan.
• Huo Yuhao announced that he planned to seize market share from the expensive local tavern and asked Huo Qiu’er whether she wanted to witness a business war.

Huo Yuhao entered a mining-area restaurant where two Soul Masters were extorting miners over overpriced beef, then swiftly defeated them. He left the bullies unconscious after telling one that he had offended him because Huo Yuhao did not eat beef.

• Miners watched as two burly Soul Masters pressured a young miner into paying an exorbitant price for beef.
• Huo Yuhao kicked open the restaurant doors and challenged the men over their inflated food prices.
• One burly man attacked Huo Yuhao with his staff, but an unseen force sent him crashing into a wall.
• Huo Yuhao seized the second man and mocked him for failing to improve his cultivation, repeating the miner's earlier taunt.
• Huo Yuhao said he had been offended because he did not eat beef, then knocked the second man unconscious.

Huo Yuhao beat two men who were exploiting the miners, then overheard the new mine owner, Brother Nan, plotting to conceal a real mithril deposit with a staged rumor-debunking ceremony. When Brother Nan arrived to confront him, Huo Yuhao seized him and challenged his foolish confidence.

• Huo Yuhao knocked out two men who had been bullying and robbing the miners.
• Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Detection to locate Brother Nan and overheard him confirm the mithril mine’s existence to his subordinates.
• Brother Nan planned to mislead Mingdu by having the Soul Engineer Association mistake staged sunken silver for mithril at a mine-closing ceremony.
• Brother Nan bragged that he would cut miners’ wages and force their women to work, while his subordinates grew uneasy.
• Brother Nan went to confront the troublemaker at the dining hall, but Huo Yuhao dragged him forward and held him aloft.

Huo Yuhao took control of the mithril mine, punished Brother Nan, and ordered better prices and food for the miners. After witnessing tensions between Sun Moon locals and Star Luo immigrants, he vowed to counter the Crown Prince’s anti-Star Luo rhetoric, just as a Titled Douluo and several Soul Saints approached.

• Huo Yuhao used Mental Exile to make Brother Nan experience endless torment and forced the fat and thin men to admit the mithril mine existed.
• Huo Yuhao announced that his people would take over the mine, ordered prices lowered, and gave the miners the braised beef.
• Huo Yuhao and Huo Qiu'er discussed the danger Star Luo immigrants faced if war broke out between Sun Moon and Star Luo.
• Huo Yuhao watched Sun Moon and Star Luo miners argue, with the Sun Moon miner voicing support for the Crown Prince and threatening the immigrants.
• Huo Yuhao decided to challenge the Crown Prince’s efforts to stir up hostility, then Tian Meng warned him that a Titled Douluo and several Soul Saints were approaching.

Huo Yuhao ambushed Xue Chen and the Sun Moon Empire soul engineers above the White Jade Silver Mine after they confirmed the mine held abundant mithril. He disabled their soul power and soul tools with silver filings and ice, then unleashed Icebound Hundred-Flower Funeral.

• Xue Chen and the soul engineers discussed how mithril could help Crown Prince Xu Tianran build a force capable of defeating the Northern Douluo.
• A returning Level 8 Soul Engineer confirmed that the White Jade Silver Mine contained a rich deposit of mithril.
• Silver filings fell like snow around the group, and Huo Yuhao appeared above them, crushing silver into fragments with his hand.
• Xue Chen recognized Huo Yuhao and ordered the soul engineers to attack after Huo Yuhao refused to negotiate.
• The silver filings drained the group’s soul power and disabled their soul tools as Huo Yuhao activated Icebound Hundred-Flower Funeral.

Huo Yuhao used Bajiao’s Icebound Hundred-Flower Funeral to defeat Xue Chen and the soul engineers at the White Jade Silver Mine, then went with his companions to inspect the Sun Moon Altar construction site. He resolved to bring Xu Tianran down as soon as possible.

• Huo Yuhao trapped Xue Chen and the soul engineers in a frost-filled cage, where Bajiao’s ice flowers drained their soul power and life force.
• Xue Chen broke the ice flowers, mistook Huo Yuhao for the Northern Douluo, and detonated himself, destroying the mine and leaving a massive crater.
• Huo Yuhao emerged unharmed from the explosion, and Huo Qiu'er, the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress, and Tian Meng praised his strength and Bajiao’s soul skill.
• Huo Yuhao took his companions to the Sun Moon Altar construction site near Mingdu and said he intended to bring Xu Tianran down as soon as possible.

Huo Yuhao and his companions surveyed the Sun Moon Altar and discussed how imperial legitimacy could outweigh military strength. Huo Yuhao revealed his intention to use that legitimacy to end the imperial family’s rule, while the Snow Empress questioned whether the Soul Beast Co-Ruler could claim legitimacy too.

• Huo Yuhao and the others watched the Sun Moon Altar from above while the Royal Soul Engineer Corps guarded it.
• The Ice Empress asked whether the Royal Soul Engineer Corps could contend with a Limit Douluo, and Huo Yuhao said it might surpass one.
• Huo Yuhao told his companions that controlling the Sun Moon legitimacy was more valuable than commanding a vast army.
• Huo Yuhao and Huo Qiu'er explained that rulers could retain authority through bloodline legitimacy, even when they were only puppets.
• Tian Meng urged Huo Yuhao to leave heirs if he became emperor, but he said he wanted to make sure no one could ever be emperor again.
• The Snow Empress asked Huo Qiu'er whether the Soul Beast Co-Ruler also possessed unquestionable legitimacy, and Huo Qiu'er said she did not know.

While watching construction of the Sun Moon Altar, Huo Yuhao grappled with Huo Qiu'er's question about where souls go after death and resolved to ask Elder Yi. He then planned to preserve the Temple of Heaven as a tourist attraction before heading to the Imperial Palace to confront Xu Tianran.

• Huo Yuhao and his companions watched the Sun Moon Altar's construction and discussed the human practice of honoring ancestors.
• Huo Yuhao said his view of death had changed through studying Undead Magic and that he now respected offerings to the dead.
• Huo Qiu'er asked where souls went after death, and Huo Yuhao felt the question connect to something important and wrote it in his notebook.
• Huo Yuhao decided to ask Elder Yi about the fate of souls when he woke up.
• Huo Yuhao said he would preserve the Temple of Heaven and turn the surrounding area into a tourist attraction.
• Huo Yuhao took Huo Qiu'er to the Imperial Palace to flex their muscles for Xu Tianran.

Xu Tianran discussed his growing advantage in the contest for the Imperial Throne with Ju Zi, while worrying about the contest and the Northern Douluo. The chapter ended when snow began falling outside the Crown Prince's Hall and Xu Tianran's suppressed brutality resurfaced.

• Ju Zi reported that public opinion and political support favored Xu Tianran over Xu Sheng.
• Xu Tianran argued that the Northern Lands Alliance lacked influence in the Sun Moon Empire and that Elder Kong and the Royal Soul Engineer Corps would protect the throne contest.
• Xu Tianran worried about when to force the emperor's hand and what the contest for the Imperial Throne would test.
• Xu Tianran reassured Ju Zi that his regent's achievements and Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon gave him an advantage over his rival's sun martial soul.
• Xu Tianran asked about Senior Xue Chen and said a mithril mine could provide materials for soul tools that countered ultimate ice.
• Snow began falling outside the Crown Prince's Hall, and Xu Tianran's savage aura made Ju Zi shiver.

Huo Yuhao threatened Xu Tianran by revealing Xue Chen’s death and promising a gift at the Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony, then reflected on how his methods embodied the Ultimate Soldier Plan. Meanwhile, the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Empires struggled to prepare for war as Du Busi set out for Mingdu, and Ye Xishui planned to rebuild the Holy Cult in the Dou Ling Empire.

• Huo Yuhao sent snow mixed with black powder over Xu Tianran’s palace and warned him that their next meeting would be the Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony, leaving Xu Tianran to realize Xue Chen had been killed.
• Huo Yuhao and Huo Qiu’er discussed how his infiltration and attacks on the Sun Moon Empire fulfilled the Ultimate Soldier Plan, and Huo Yuhao said he would prepare Xu Tianran’s promised gift.
• Nebula Douluo told Xu Jiujiu that Star Luo had lost its spies in Mingdu, while Xu Jiujiu wondered whether an anti-war prince might prevent Xu Tianran from taking the throne and asked after Huo Yuhao.
• Du Busi decided to return to Mingdu carrying the Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell Destruction Storm, despite the Body Sect and Vina trying to stop him.
• Ye Xishui chose a new Holy Cult headquarters in the southern Dou Ling Empire and ordered evil-martial-soul children brought in for the coming Holy Rite, while Long Xiaoyao agonized over allowing the plan to proceed.

Ye Guyi made rapid progress under Yan Shaozhe and Xian Lin'er’s guidance at Shrek, while Zhang Lexuan introduced Tang Wutong as a new Inner Court student. Xiao Xiao comforted Tang Wutong by Sea God Lake, where Tang Wutong broke down and revealed that both her fathers were gone and she had no home anymore.

• Ye Guyi mastered the basics of Yan Shaozhe’s Heavenly King’s Arrival combat skill, and Xian Lin'er promised to help her develop a custom Level 8 divine-attribute sword.
• Zhang Lexuan told Yan Shaozhe that Wang Dong had withdrawn because her illness had worsened, then showed him the assessment information for Su Tong and Tang Wutong.
• Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, and Xiao Xiao met Tang Wutong as Zhang Lexuan introduced her as a new Inner Court student, and Xu Sanshi remarked that she looked like Wang Dong.
• Xu Sanshi complained to Bei Bei that Tang Wutong had seemed rude by looking toward the sky while Zhang Lexuan explained the academy.
• Xiao Xiao took Tang Wutong to Sea God Lake and spoke about Wang Dong, prompting Tang Wutong to sob that her First Dad and Second Dad were gone and that she no longer had a home.

Wang Dong'er revealed her real name and identity to Xiao Xiao, then explained that her fathers had rejected her and that she could no longer return home. Xiao Xiao offered comfort and suggested she seek advice from Ning Tian, while Wang Dong'er remained unsure whether Shrek Academy was truly safe for her.

• Wang Dong'er confirmed to Xiao Xiao that she was Wang Dong'er, not Tang Wutong, and braced for a feared reaction that never came.
• Wang Dong'er told Xiao Xiao that the Clear Sky Sect and her fathers were fine, but her fathers no longer acknowledged her; she accepted Xiao Xiao's guess that the dispute involved her role as young sect master.
• Wang Dong'er broke down over having nowhere to go, and Xiao Xiao suggested she ask Ning Tian for advice about sect succession.
• Xiao Xiao told Wang Dong'er that Shrek Academy could be her home, but Wang Dong'er worried about the Sea God statue there and said she needed more time to decide.
• Xiao Xiao teased Wang Dong'er about hiding that she was a girl, and Wang Dong'er blushed while denying that the class monitor had noticed.

Wang Dong'er found resolve to uncover the truth about the watcher who threatened her, while Mingdu prepared for the Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony and the royal competition. As the ceremony began, Huo Yuhao and Huo Qiu'er observed the massive gathering, and Xu Tianran arrived at the altar.

• Xiao Xiao encouraged Wang Dong'er to choose her own path, and Wang Dong'er resolved to face the watcher and seek the truth.
• The Northern Lands Alliance announced it had gained the Southeast Mining District and discovered a mithril mine, heightening tensions with Crown Prince Xu Tianran.
• The Sun Moon Altar was completed, and the royal family prepared the Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony and the competition to choose the next emperor.
• Millions gathered under heavy military guard as Huo Yuhao used Simulation to scout the altar with Huo Qiu'er.
• Xu Tianran and other members of the royal family arrived, and Huo Qiu'er descended into the crowd while Huo Yuhao watched Xu Tianran with excitement.

Xu Tianran prepared to secure the throne and ordered Ju Zi to kill Huo Yuhao if necessary, while Huo Yuhao arrived at the Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony disguised as Xu Sheng. He gave Xu Tianran a Flying Board as a pointed insult, leaving the Crown Prince enraged as the ceremony’s confrontation loomed.

• Xu Tianran told Ju Zi that he would use the Grand Competition to injure Huo Yuhao and wanted his enemies dead that night, and he declared that he wanted the entire continent.
• The Third Prince and Fifth Prince feared Xu Tianran’s succession, while Jing Hongchen privately concluded that Huo Yuhao had already outmaneuvered the Crown Prince.
• Huo Yuhao arrived with the Holy Son and the Ice and Snow Empresses, appearing before Xu Tianran’s carriage in a burst of speed.
• After a royal official criticized his arrival, Huo Yuhao mocked Xu Tianran’s disability and sent him an exquisitely wrapped gift through Ju Zi.
• Xu Tianran opened the gift, discovered a Flying Board engraved with his name, and crushed it in a surge of anger.

Du Busi confronted the Sun Moon Empire during its Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony, and Xu Tianran used the crisis to try to eliminate him and Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao revealed Xu Tianran’s secret to the gathered crowd and stopped the attack, leaving Xu Tianran’s dignity shattered as Huo Yuhao prepared his next move.

• Du Busi entered the Heaven-Worshipping Ceremony carrying a Destruction Storm, and Kong Deming and the Sun Moon Empire’s powerhouses confronted him.
• Xuiran and Ju Zi arranged for civilians to evacuate while preparing to exploit a fight to eliminate Du Busi, Huo Yuhao, and the Northern Douluo.
• Du Busi demanded that Xuiran answer for the Body Sect’s treatment at the Soul Master Tournament, then exposed Xu Tianran’s inability to father children.
• The Northern Douluo appeared, and Xu Tianran ordered an attack on him and Du Busi while directing his surprise strike at Huo Yuhao.
• Huo Yuhao’s mental power revealed Xu Tianran’s secret to the gathered crowd and froze the battlefield, while Star’s Guardian blocked Xu Tianran’s attack.
• Huo Yuhao revealed that he had detected the Soul Engineer Corps’ Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells and addressed Xu Tianran as “Xu Gongran.”

Huo Yuhao exposed Xu Tianran’s mutilation to millions of people, breaking his support and driving him to attempt suicide by self-destruction. Huo Yuhao killed him, was acclaimed as the new Sun Moon Emperor, and offered an invocation honoring the sun and moon rather than the empire’s ancestors.

• Huo Yuhao used Spiritual Sharing and Mental Suggestion to reveal Xu Tianran’s body to the altar’s experts and millions of Mingdu citizens, leaving Xu Tianran’s supporters stunned and unwilling to obey him.
• Xu Tianran’s composure collapsed under the crowd’s mockery, and he transformed into a Purple-Gold Giant Dragon and tried to destroy himself with his Soul Core.
• Huo Yuhao stopped Xu Tianran’s self-destruction with Ultimate Ice and killed him with the Sun Soul Tool, then revealed himself to Xu Tianran’s undead spirit before it vanished.
• Kong Deming accepted Huo Yuhao as the victor of the Grand Competition, and the Sun Moon Empire’s officials, powerhouses, and citizens hailed him as emperor.
• Huo Yuhao rejected the prepared ancestral invocation and honored the crimson sun and silver moon, while Du Busi departed for the Heaven Dou Empire.

Huo Yuhao took the Sun Moon throne and tried to reassure its powerhouses while beginning to consolidate his rule. After the court dispersed, he reflected with his companions on the limits of force and the challenge of governing an empire he did not yet control.

• Huo Yuhao declared that past allegiance would not be punished, but warned the powerhouses that future offenses would be pursued.
• Huo Yuhao ordered Xu Tianci to seal the Crown Prince's Hall, investigate the Hand of National Protection, and arrest the Crown Prince's diehard followers.
• The Royal Family Disciplinary Team detained ministers and placed Ju Zi under house arrest, while Jing Hongchen returned to the Sun Moon Academy with Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
• After everyone else left the Temple of Heaven, Huo Yuhao collapsed from exhaustion and celebrated his victory with the Ice and Snow Empresses, Tian Meng, and Bajiao.
• Huo Qiu'er arrived and teased Huo Yuhao about his tactics, then asked about his plans; he explained that he lacked military and political support and would have to govern gradually.